1861. 



NEW ENGLATn^D farmer. 



241 



furrow-slice to meet fully the preceding one, as 

 represented in the cut, the upturned soil is laid 

 over in a remarkably li^ht and pulverized condi- 

 tion, making a very level and finely crackel and 

 opened seed-bed or tilth, superior to what can be 

 done with any other implement yet introduced, 

 and indeed superior to what the most accom- 

 plished spadesman could do in grass land by 

 hand-labor. For the deep breaking-up of sod 

 land, I would recommend you to employ the sod 

 and subsoil style of plowing, on all such of your 

 fields as are free enough of obstructions, and have 

 sufficient regularity of surface to admit of the use 

 of the double plow. Deep plowing is done with 

 lighter draught to the team by this mode than by 

 any other, because you can plow quite a narrow 

 furrow in proportion to depth — say ten inches 

 deep by eleven or twelve inches wide, while by 

 other modes you would be obliged to carry at 

 least from a third to a half more width than depth 

 to turn the furrow surely. 



Flat Furrow Sod Ploayixg. — For the break- 

 ing-up of bushy, rooty or uneven pastures, or any 



other grass land when there are too many ob- 

 structions, or the surface is too rough, or the sod 



is too stiff and rooty with wild or 

 swamp grasses for the safe and ef- 

 fective use of the double plow, the 

 single or flat-furrowed green sward 

 plowing is the better style. The ac- 

 companying cut shows you at a 

 glance the proper flexure and move- 

 ment of the greensward flat-furrow- 

 slice. For perfect plowing, with the 

 lightest practicable draught upon 

 the team, the furrow- slice should 

 have an exact mathematical curvat- 

 ure and equality of twist throughout 

 its entire passage over — as is repre- 

 sented in the cut. It should be the 

 eff'ort and pride of the plowman to 

 be able to adjust his line of draught, 

 or his hitch to the plow, so as to 

 have it meet the peculiarities of the 

 movement of the team — no two 

 teams hardly ever drawing a plow 

 exactly alike — so that his plow will 

 readily take the precise right depth 

 and width of furrow and hold easily 

 in it, ar.d so that he can perfectly and 

 instantly control, or vary the bias of 

 the plow, to meet the peculiar lay of 

 the land anywhere, and bring the furrow-slice 

 over handsomely into its place, and preserve the 

 perfection of his furrows. These little tricks and 

 arts of the true plowman's trade should be 

 learned by every one who pretends to hold a 

 breaking-up plow, and surely, no good farmer 

 can consider them beneath his attainment. For 

 your rough or unsubdued sod land, you will do 

 well to plow the flat sod furrow, using a plow of 

 sufficient strength and capacity for a team of four 

 horses, or oxen, when required, and carrying a 

 depth of furrow of eight to ten inches, in good 

 style. 



Lapped Furrow Sod Plowing. — The an- 

 nexed cut shows you the proper movemicnt and 

 position of the lapped sod furrow. This is a 

 style of plowing much practiced in Great Britain, 

 and in some sections of our country where the 

 soil is a stiff" clay. As the cut shows you, there 

 is a little air space, or drain, under each furrow- 

 slice, and the projecting angles of the surface of 

 the plowed land present the stiff" clay soil favora- 

 bly to the action of the harrow or other surface- 

 working instrument, for the raising 

 of a fine tilth or mellow seed-bed. 

 To execute this mode of plowing in 

 perfect style, the furrow slices must 

 not be cut more than one third 

 wider than they are deep, for if 

 they are, they will not stand at a 

 steep enough inclination, or rather 

 at an angle of forty-five dcgrres, 

 which is the best inclinstion. The 

 usual proportions of furrow-slice 

 among finished plowmen are about 

 6X9 and 7X10 inches. For a 

 new country, where the land has 

 not yet become cleared of obstruc- 

 tions nor its surface much smooth- 

 ed, this is a difficult style of plow- 

 ing to execute well, and indeed it 

 is better adapted to an old than a 

 new country. For plowing more than seven 

 inches deep, the sod and subsoil style of plowing 



